Page 51 of Signs and Wonders

Drake sighed. “In for a penny, in for a pound. The cabin has basic wardings, but you can add anything you need to keep him contained.”

“Don’t worry—we’re not going to kill him unless he attacks us.” Tyler gave the cuffed shifter a shake. “But that doesn’t rule out making him real uncomfortable until he talks.”

“I’ve called to the local spirits, and they have agreed to guard the cabin,” Travis said. “Crossing their line would be extremely uncomfortable, and they could haunt him,” he added, looking at the defiant man.

Tyler hustled the shifter into the cabin, and the others followed. Seth figured the chill in the air was from Travis’s ghostly friends, but he was glad for their help. Inside, Drake locked the door, and Tyler pushed their prisoner to the floor. The silver cuffs left red, angry marks on his skin.

“We know you’re a shifter,” Seth told the man who still looked like Cameron.

“You’re crazy.”

“Silver doesn’t react to humans,” Seth said. “So you can drop the charade. Where’s the real Cameron?”

“I don’t know what—” The imposter’s protest cut off as Seth laid the flat of a silver knife against his neck. A red welt rose immediately.

Tyler stepped back, looking sick.

I can understand,Seth thought.He knows it’s not Cameron, but it looks like him, and we’re roughing up the thing that’s wearing his boyfriend’s face.Seth turned his attention back to the shifter.

“Look, we can do this all day, which is no fun for you or us. So make it easy on yourself. Where’s Cameron?”

“Go fuck yourselves.” The voice was right, but the way Cameron’s expression twisted in hatred was all wrong.

“Maybe later,” Seth replied in a dry tone. “This can get very unpleasant very fast. It doesn’t have to. Ever bathed in a tub of water laced with colloidal silver? ‘Exfoliation’ doesn’t quite cover it.”

The creature couldn’t hide a shudder.

Drake’s eyes went wide, but he stayed quiet.

“Who sent you?” Seth advanced with the silver knife, and the shifter shrank back.

“Whoever sent you isn’t going to rescue you,” Travis pointed out. “You’re expendable to them. In fact, they might want to get rid of you anyway so there aren’t any witnesses. Think about that before you protect them.”

“A guy told me he wanted to grab the bartender and not have anyone notice for a while, and the pay was good,” the shifter said.

“Does everyone in town know you’re a shifter?” Tyler challenged. “You’re going to have to do better than that.” Seth took a half step forward with the knife.

“My boss at the Hub—okay?” the prisoner blurted, eying the knife. “His name is Curt. I do jobs for him when he needs a stand-in.”

“You mean when he wants you to impersonate someone?” Seth pressed. “Like on videos?”

“Yeah, all right. Sometimes. Or for conversations. Nothing major,” the shifter answered, still surly. “No big deal.”

“Oh, it definitely is a big deal,” Drake assured him. “But if you cooperate, maybe you can plead down. We can protect you.”

“The fuck you can. He’s a goddamned witch!”

“Who?” Drake pushed back.

“Swain. The guy in charge of everything,” the shifter snapped.

“Where did they take Cameron?” Seth didn’t let up.

“I heard them say they were taking him to the Hub,” the prisoner replied. “That’s all I know. I was just supposed to keep anyone from noticing he was gone for as long as possible and then get away.”

Seth knew from the look on Travis’s face that he didn’t believe the shifter or at least doubted the information.

“Here’s how this is going to go down,” Seth told him. “We’re going to fasten your cuffs to something that won’t move. You’ll be gagged. We won’t leave you long without food, water, or a bathroom break, but we can’t risk letting you go.”

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